100th IWD in Juba: Women still marginalised majority
The celebration of the International Women's Day (IWD) on 8 March 2011 in Juba has come as a reminder of the urgent need to work towards more just social, political and cultural spheres, with gender equality at their core.
A drama staged about equal access to education during the IWD 2011 celebrations.Southern Sudanese in Juba celebrated on Tuesday the 100th anniversary of the IWD. Marked with several messages advocating for gender equality, the day was commemorated by examining women's emancipation in the semi-autonomous region. Organised by the Ministry of Gender, Social Welfare and Religious Affairs of the Government of Southern Sudan (GoSS), it was attended by numerous people from Juba itself and the other nine states of Southern Sudan, civil society organisations and representatives from other non-governmental organisations.
The theme of this year's celebration was: Equal Access to Education, Training, Science and Technology - Pathway to Decent Work for Women. The GoSS Vice President Dr Riek Machar Teny, who is also deputy chairman of the Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM), was the chief guest. The day hosted several shows for entertainment, from poem presentations and traditional dances to performances from local artists and dramas which all communicated messages advocating for gender equality and representation.
Agnes Kwaje Lasuba
Delivering her speech during the function GoSS Minister of Gender Agnes Kwaje Lasuba (SPLM) underscored the efforts of GoSS in promoting gender equality. She as well pointed out the challenges hindering full representation of women in both public and private sectors.
GoSS, following the signing of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) back in 2005, has amended its interim constitution, raising women's presence in the government to 25%, as an effort to promote gender equality in the public sector. Article 20 of the interim constitution states that "women shall have the right to equal pay for equal work and other related benefits with men". This is considered as a catalyst for promoting gender equality in the region.
The IWD, launched in 1911 in Denmark by German socialist Clara Zetkin, is celebrated in many countries around the world. The American Association of University Women (AAUW) advocating for women's rights in local and national arenas advanced the IWD to become a universal gender equality platform. Kwaje said marking the day will help minimise women's marginalisation, subordination and oppression in the new nation to-be.
KAJU - a song by Sister Dee about flagrant abuse of women.
Women in Southern Sudan get low paid jobs because of low academic qualifications or the lack thereof. "Access to Education, Training, Science and Technology - Pathway to Decent Work for Women is one of our demands‚" the Minister pointed out. She said that for equal gender representation to be reached, education is a key factor to strive for, especially for women in long-term destabilised regions. She pointed out that women lag behind men in literacy.
In detail, the minister explained that "in our population today, only 28% of women can read and write while 72% cannot. 55% of men can read and write while 45% cannot. Among six year-olds, 19% of girls are in school and 81% are not. As for boys, 38% are schooled while 62% are not. The gap in education needs to be bridged because these children are our future." She urged parents and guardians to take all children to school as advocated by GoSS President Salva Kiir Mayardit (SPLM) in 2006.
Compare the situation with last year's reports about the 99th IWD by Marvis Birungi and Ochan Hannington
Kwaje traced women emancipation in Southern Sudan back to the 1970s. She said that women's participation in political and social activities came to full swing during the regime of the Sudanese President Jafar Mohamed Nimeri when his ruling party, the Sudan Socialist Union (SSU), encouraged women to participate in public and political affairs. She explained that in 1974, six Southern Sudanese women were appointed as Members of Parliament. Two women from each of the three provinces of the Greater-Equatoria, Bar el Ghazal and Upper Nile participated in the national parliament in Khartoum and the regional parliament of Southern Sudan.
The challenge that hindered women emancipation came years later with the Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA) uprising against the Sudanese government growing tense in 1983. "Nevertheless, women joined the liberation too. Some picked up arms, some cared for the sick and wounded, others headed households, and some more lobbied for a peaceful resolution to end the war. Many women were imprisoned in Northern Sudan for brewing alcohol, for educating people and helping children survive," the Minister explained in depth.
Dr. Michael Milli Hussein
Twenty women from the ten states of Southern Sudan, two from each state, were awarded certificates of merit for the great and positive leadership role they played during the liberation war in the Southern Sudanese society. The award was to encourage the women who attended the function to play greater roles in the society.
The GoSS Minister of Education, Dr. Michael Milli Hussein, underscored the role played by women in the long Sudan civil war and the recent Southern Sudan concluded referendum, in which the Southerners voted for secession. Dr. Milli, a member of the National Congress Party (NCP), said women acted as backbones in gearing all efforts of the Southern Sudanese struggle for all the passed years. Since the 2005 peace deal, he said, a lot has been done but the best has not yet been done for women in the new nation to-be. He clarified that women constitute 60% of the South Sudan's population. They are however, still the marginalised majority.
Read "Traditional culture in conflic with education" by Ochan Hannington, too
Milli said that as per the post-referendum arrangements, the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology is working closely with international partners such as UNICEF, UNESCO and Plan International. Their common goal is to develop a suitable education program that aims at promoting girl child education. The minister commended that education for women is an asset to the nation: "Without education we cannot reduce the infant mortality rate in South Sudan. Let's support women to acquire education!"
Lucie Luguga
Furthermore, representatives of the United Nations (UN) explained that the rate of violence against women is still high in many countries, particularly in war and conflict zones. Lucie Luguga, program manager of the UN Entity for Gender Equality and Women Empowerment (UN Women) in Southern Sudan, said:
"In too many countries and societies women remain second class citizens. Women and girls continue to endure unacceptable discrimination and violence often at the hands of intimate partners, relatives, in their homes and work places".
For more background information check out the Yale study about "Gender-based violence in Southern Sudan"
Luguga added that there is a growing international resolve to punish and prevent sexual aggression and to do more to implement the Security Council land mark resolution 1325 on women peace and security, which highlights the importance of involving women in all aspects of building and keeping peace.
On a related note, the GoSS Vice President Dr Riek Machar admitted that despite governmental efforts, the challenges women in Southern Sudan are facing remain far reaching. He explained how fast Southern Sudan is gearing towards achieving gender equality, following the allowance by the interim constitution of 25% power share to women in the region:
"In terms of the Southern Sudan Legislative Assembly, I am happy to report that the percentage of women representatives increased from 25% to 28% in the recent elections, with Southern Sudan now ranking in the top ten African countries in terms of women's representation in parliament. In Lakes State, women representatives account for 29% of the total number of representatives, Western Bahr el Ghazal 27% and Western Equatoria 25%. Six states have between 20% to 25% of representatives being women, with Central Equatoria lagging behind at 16%," the Vice President explained.
Dr Riek Machar
"We know from the 2009 National Household survey that only 16% of our female population is literate, and women in Southern Sudan have a one-in-seven chance of dying from pregnancy-related causes. More than 70% of women aged between 15 and 49 have been found to have no knowledge about HIV prevention. These are frightening and unacceptable statistics, which we must surely focus one hundred and one percent of our energies on tackling, if we are to move forward to have a prosperous and just nation," Dr Machar said.
The Vice President underlined the importance of the active role women play in nation-building which Southern Sudan needs to a great extent: "It is clear that a strong and prosperous nation of South Sudan will only emerge if we enable and acknowledge our women to be the backbone of our nation. Looking at Rwanda as an example, 56% of political representatives are women. This shows what can be achieved when there is a positive push to promote women's role in public life."
Info: according to the Statistical Yearbook, out of 82 county commissioners in Southern Sudan only one is a woman
Dr Machar stressed that GoSS is looking forward to increasing women representation and participation in the government to 30%. He reiterated that the government's efforts and commitment to increasing women participation in all sectors in the region are ongoing. He explained that to make significant and lasting impact on the gender achievements, it is important that women in Southern Sudan are genuinely active at all levels of public life. Finally, he urged women to organise themselves in political parties, civil society organisations and to be active on the international level as well.
